Airless tires = energy return wheels

http://www.tempt.ee/topic.php?topic=589&page=2

Taavi @ 10.11.2009 14:18 | Registreerunud: 01.04.2003

Väiksem energiakulu, ohutum liiklus, parem juhitavus?

anyone who has ever driven a car dreads getting a flat tire, but what if your tires could never go flat?
in recent years a number of companies and inventors have been working on creating airless tires that
would be impossible to puncture. the most well known design in this field is the michelin tweel,
a combination wheel and tire. the design was one of the first to emerge, bringing the idea of non-pneumatic
tires to the public's attention. but michelin has been slow to roll out the technology beyond the test phase.
in light of this, a company called resilient technologies has also been working on an airless tire.
the company recently announced that prototypes of their honeycomb-like tires will ship in 2011 for use
in the US military. this will no doubt help the airless tire field, as will other startup companies working
on the task like britek. you can see their design below and a video explaining more. with this much
competition in the field, we may see non-pneumatic tires on consumer vehicles in the near future.

via Designboom

ERW